Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life [Hardcover]

Mary Margaret Funk (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2001

In her previous book, Thoughts Matter: The Practice of the Spiritual Life, Sister Mary Margaret Funk, elaborating on the teaching of John Cassian, dealt with the eight classic "thoughts" that distract us from the presence of God. In her new book, casting her net more widely, she treats more than two dozen "tools" or practices of the spiritual life. Many of these (such as fasting, vigils, ceaseless prayer, and manual labor) derive from the desert mothers and fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries, but just as many come from later times: the practices of emptiness based on The Cloud of Unknowing, of recollection (Teresa of Avila), of self-abandonment (J. P. de Caussade), of the presence of God (Brother Lawrence), of colloquy (Gabrielle Bossis), and of the Little Way of Therese of Lisieux. The book concludes with a chapter on discernment, spiritual direction, and the limitations of each tool. Tools, says Funk, are means, not ends. "Eventually, we discover, with freedom and love, that tools don't matter after all! God, our heart's desire, is all that matters!" The book includes a comprehensive bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Funk turns to the wisdom of the desert fathers for the means of removing obstacles to spiritual growth, which include thoughts of food, sex, possessions, anger, dejection, and pride, among other preoccupations. Redirecting thought away from such weeds in the garden of the spirit can lead to a greater awareness of God. This somewhat Zen-like method to mental discipline may seem impossible at first, Funk admits, but those who succeed at it are rewarded with a liberating experience as they come to observe and control individual thought processes. Drawing on the writings of the fifth-century monk John Cassian, Funk goes on to explore deeply using such tools as memory, imagination, and rational thinking--tools right out of early Christianity--to work on inner healing. She also explains how other positive tools, such as ceaseless prayer, manual labor, and isolation, may lead to uncluttering the mind and purifying the heart. Worthy guidance for contemplative spiritual seekers. June Sawyers
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

"Worthy guidance for contemplative spiritual seekers."--Booklist

"This is a rich work. As I worked through this short but handsomely produced volume, I realized that one could use it as an instructional tool. It would also make a wonderful gift to someone who loves the psalms."
--Lawrence S. Cunningham, Commonweal, May 3, 2002


"Sister Margaret is well versed in monastic tradition and history and has a keen talent for summarizing major figures."
--Paul Matthew St. Pierre, The B.C. Catholic, March 25, 2002


"The focus of her discussion is on ensuring that readers, after committing themselves to drawing out and refining their spiritualities, have the 'tools' also to ensure they do not slip back in secularism."
--British Columbia Catholic

] "an excellent place for one to begin spiritual renewal"
--Catholic News Service, August 2, 2002


“Worthy guidance for contemplative spiritual seekers.” —Booklist (Booklist )

“An excellent place for one to begin spiritual renewal.” —Catholic News Service (Catholic New Times )

“In [Tools Matter, Mary Margaret Funk] discusses the tools needed to advance in the Christian life…. Her negative tools come from the monastic tradition: guarding the heart, watchfulness of thoughts, fasting, dreams, and repentance. Her positive tools: ceaseless prayer, manual labor, the cell, vigils, manifestation of thoughts. There are, in addition, social tools: humility, ministry, and the common table…. Funk shows how a person might borrow one form of spirituality in order to enrich another….[T]his is a rich work. Funk, like the householder of the Gospel, is able to draw out both old things and new.” —Commonweal (Commonweal )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Continuum (November 1, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082641351X
• ISBN-13: 978-0826413512
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #153,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Roman Catholicism
  • #75 in Books > Christian Books & Bibles > Catholicism > Inspirational

More About the Author

Sr. Mary Margaret Funk is the author of Thoughts Matter (Continuum, 1997), Tools Matter (Continuum, 1999), Humility Matters (Continuum, 2005) and Lectio Matters (Continuum, 2010) in the "Matters" series. She is also the author of Islam Is... (Lantern Books, 2003 and 2008) and her autobiography Into the Depths (Lantern Books, 2011). She was formerly the prioress of Our Lady of Grace Monastery and the Executive Director of Monastic Interreligious Dialogue. She lives at Our Lady of Grace Monastery in Beech Grove, Indiana. Her website can be found at http://www.megfunk.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Guidelines for spiritual receptivity, April 23, 2002

By 

Pascaline Coff (Sand Springs, Oklahoma USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life (Hardcover)

God's call to contemplation is universal, Bede Griffiths, a greatly revered English monk who died in India in 1993 insisted, but the reason the "call" is not effective is because of a lack of receptivity. Meg Funk in this present volume offers us all a handbook for spiritual receptivity - more than 25 Christian prayer methods (tools) for our cooperation in becoming receptive to the gift of God's Sprit given without limit.
Sr.Meg truly takes her readers "back to the sources" of the desert and early Christian monasticism as she places in our hands another insightful and helpful 155 pages for the spiritual journey. Those who haven't yet read or may have forgotten the contents of her first volume: Thoughts Matter, will be happy to find that the author gives us not just a brief replay of the "eight thoughts" or "afflictions" that obscure our awareness of God but adds many new insights, nuances and examples. Of the more than 25 practices Meg shares here from our Christian tradition that can be reappropriated today as tools on the contemplative path, she gives pride of place and repeated focus to Lectio Divina "the classic individual prayer form". Her presentation is very well done. Sr.Meg's years of compassionate intermonastic exchanges echo through her volume as she uses phrases like "right effort; right thinking, right relationships" and "the transmision of God". Her breakdown of the tools into negative, positive, social, and prayer tools is helpful. Under the social tools the author gives an exposition of humility with a unique glimpse at St. Benedict's 12 degrees (Chap. 7 of the Rule)and as she herself says "The tools involved in using these twelve steps form a refrain rhroughtout this entire book". Motivation is critical! Attention and intention are frequent "wake up calls" thoughout the seven chapters of the work.
In the final chapter on discernment the author indicates what we can learn from each of the eight afflictive thoughts, using the suggested tools and knowing the goal of each effort. The "downside" or limitations of each of the tools is offered to help all walk in the Turth! Spiritual direction is also included in the final chapter with a view to the listener and the seeker.
The books is highly recommended for all seekers, monastics and lay alike!

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old but new, March 16, 2002

By 

fr. Kevin Hunt (MA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life (Hardcover)

I have been a monk for over 45 years. During that time I have read a lot of books on spiritual practice. Mary Margaret Funk's "Tools Matter ..." is one of those books that ought to be on the shelf of anyone who practices and/or teaches meditation. It is an excellent introduction to the spiritual way, a reminder for the proficient.
In the Benedictine tradition during Lent we have a special time for spiritual reading. I read "Tools Matter..." for Lent this year. It has reminded me of many of the essenbtial tools that are basic, but which can easily set aside over the years. This book has encouraged me to review and return to some of these basic practices.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Universal message, April 19, 2002

By 

Sharon Salzberg (Barre, Ma. United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tools Matter for Practicing the Spiritual Life (Hardcover)

This is a lovely new book by Mary Margaret Funk. It reads as both a source
of inspiration and a practical guide for the development of spiritual
practice. The importance of having tools and knowing how to use them as we
tend "the garden of our souls" is articulated in a fresh and accessible way.
While it draws on practices from the early Christian tradition, the depth
and universality of its message is applicable to anyone on a contemplative
path. Tools do matter; they provide us with the means to bring our spiritual
practice to life in an ongoing way. Many thanks to the author for this
important manual of the heart.